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I have covered the Phillies since 2003, seeing the good and bad times

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 09: Maikel Franco #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds the bases on his solo home run in the fourth inning against the New York Mets during Game One of a doubleheader at Citi Field on July 9, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

In a way, Maikel Franco’s best and worst trait in his parts of four seasons of being a member of the Phillies has always been this.

He is a heck of a plan wrecker.

After all, the original plan in place until the middle of last year was that Franco would be the anchor at third base and in the middle of the Philadelphia lineup with a home run swing that could fit nicely into the three, four or five holes in any lineup. A decent glove and a good power bat at a corner position after all are a good place to start.

And then, Franco underachieved. And as time went on, it became clear that the Phillies had soured on whatever his role with the organization was going to be. They would drop him in the lineup. The open drool over Manny Machado’s pending free agency became clear. The proposed move of a career shortstop to third base in J.P. Crawford in the middle of June was viewed as the final surrender. After all, Crawford is not a player not known for his power potential. He was being shifted to a position that virtually demands it.

Only Crawford broke his hand after being hit by a pitch and Franco was reinserted back into the lineup in mid-June in primarily the eight hole in the lineup. And suddenly, you get the sense that Maikel Franco could either reinsert himself into the Phillies plans at some level or become one heck of a trade chip in the next month.

Franco’s traditional numbers heading into Miami for the final series heading into the All-Star Break are interesting. His .272 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs and .779 On Base/Slugging Percentage are respectable for the season. They have been buoyed by a 20-game stretch since June 20 where he’s hitting .359 with three homers, nine RBIs and an OPS of 1.008. (Franco’s WAR, however, is only 0.3 for 2018.)

Franco getting hot for three or four weeks is nothing new. The timing, however, certainly is curious with the Phillies in an unfamiliar role of being a legitimate contender in the National League East and the trade deadline looming on July 31.

The deadline chatter about Philadelphia adding a piece on the left side of the infield to plug what has been gaps at shortstop and third base is non-stop. It also plays into the fact that another big bat will be needed if the Phillies are going to legitimately hang with Atlanta’s bruising lineup and the charge that Washington may make when and if they ever are able to get healthy.

A lot of that has been tied into Machado, who is almost assuredly going to be traded by the Baltimore Orioles before July 31 in anticipation of his upcoming windfall in free agency. The Phillies have so many Machado connections – team president Andy MacPhail and general manager Matt Klentak were in Baltimore, along with scores of other team personnel- and a lack of payroll commitments moving forward that it is just assumed that Machado will be their top target in the winter.

However, Machado may not play into the Franco thinking as much as you may think. After all, Machado wants to play shortstop. The Phillies will likely give Machado that and move other pieces around.

While the Phillies have a six-year, $24 million contract to rookie Scott Kingery who is playing short now, his long-range best projected position remains at second base should the Phillies move on from Cesar Hernandez. (That’s not a given, either, give Hernandez importance at the top of the Philadelphia lineup.)

There’s also Crawford, in his first big league season who has long been touted for his potential as a prospect but who also can be quite enigmatic. Crawford’s glove at third has been outstanding but his bat still carries a lot of questions.

Again, in this musical chairs scenario, it would have been easy a month ago to see Franco out of the Phillies mix entirely. But if Philadelphia were to try and jump ahead of the curve and get Machado before the end of the month- vaulting them from NL East contender to potential World Series participant in a move of transaction- they could decide to part with either Crawford or Kingery as part of a package with some of the younger pitching in the system. And that keeps Franco very much in play as part of the Phillies future.

There’s also this: the non-Machado candidates who could be out there on the left side of the infield aren’t really that much of an improvement. Josh Donaldson of Toronto has been hurt. Mike Moustaskas of Kansas City could be a rental, but his numbers may not project much better than what Franco could end up being.

There’s also the matter of Franco’s own personal trade value. He’s arbitration eligible this winter for the second time, so teams that do acquire him would have his rights until after the 2021 season according to Cot’s Baseball Contract. His salary of $2.95 million is not prohibitive in a deal and it may rise into the $5 million area next year. Having a soon-to-be 26 year old with potential, a controllable contract for multiple years and a change of scenery may become really appealing to a lot of teams that are seeking affordable upside.

It’s a fascinating situation to be in and a pretty good one from the Phillies point of view. It will be interesting to see if Franco’s hot stretch really did change plans - both for the club and himself.

I have covered the Phillies since 2003 - watching playoff contenders and 99-loss franchises. For most of that time, I covered them for the Bucks County Courier Times and Calkins Media. I’ve served as the Philadelphia Chapter Chairman for the Baseball Writers Association of A...